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Rating: 
Summary: Passions rise and flour and dough fly
Review: A woman who loves to bake, cook, and experiment with new dishes--and does so with great skill and delicious results. A man whose heightened sense of smell has served him well in spice import ventures and made him lover of well-seasoned food. A match made in culinary heaven?Not when the woman is Lady Harriet Worthington, widow of Lord Frederick Worthington (a womanizer to the end), daughter of the Duke of Sidenham (distant and cold); now her own woman and loving it. Not when the man is Lord Elias Westwood, Worthington's partner in a very successful spice import business--a man who wants possession of Lady Worthington's shares in the business, since she has so mismanaged them since Freddy died. Passions rise and flour and dough fly from the first time these two meet. Most definitely a character-driven novel, REFORMING HARRIET allows us to eavesdrop (along with the servants!) on Harriet and Elias as they try to come to a mutually satisfying disposition of the portion of the spice business left in Harriet's care. Eileen Putman breathes life into an intriguing hero and heroine, then sets them free to learn and grow... and love. Kimberly Borrowdale, Under the Covers Book Reviews
Rating: 
Summary: Points mostly for innovative plot..
Review: I thought I had written a review for this book, but I see I skipped it. It is one of those books, actually, that I have some doubts about. I had no doubts that the book was well-written, or that the characters, zany as they were, were interesting. But on the other hand, the heroine's culinary pursuits (in the village bakery, that is) seem a little unreal. It was funny, on the other hand, to see the gentlemen of the ton lusting for her - baked goods! The problems I have with the book is not with the hero or heroine's motivations. The heroine, the daughter of a duke, who prefers to use her maiden name (although legally and socially she would have been known by her husband's name and rank), has had an unhappy childhood and even unhappier marriage. To compensate, she turns to cooking and to charitable works in her village. Enter the hero - the partner of her late husband in a spice-importing firm. The hero is an earl (of course!) who has turned to trade to revive the family fortunes. [One problem: Few peers directly engaged in trade; those who did so tended to be despised by other aristocrats. Investing in certain types of companies was permissible on the other hand, directly, or more likely, indirectly]. The hero's links to trade are actually less problematic compared to the story line. Although I can understand her fears, her dithering made the story somewhat hard to follow. An entertaining subplot involved the servants - the earl's man being determined to ensure that his master remains a bachelor (to the point of actively meddling in his betrothals), and one of Lady Harriet's maids being determined to nabble said valet. I did find the names of these maids somewhat distracting, and wondered where their names had come from. Having read a few more of Putnam's books, I have to say that this is probably her best work. She has now turned to writing historicals.
Rating:
Summary: Points mostly for innovative plot..
Review: I thought I had written a review for this book, but I see I skipped it. It is one of those books, actually, that I have some doubts about. I had no doubts that the book was well-written, or that the characters, zany as they were, were interesting. But on the other hand, the heroine's culinary pursuits (in the village bakery, that is) seem a little unreal. It was funny, on the other hand, to see the gentlemen of the ton lusting for her - baked goods! The problems I have with the book is not with the hero or heroine's motivations. The heroine, the daughter of a duke, who prefers to use her maiden name (although legally and socially she would have been known by her husband's name and rank), has had an unhappy childhood and even unhappier marriage. To compensate, she turns to cooking and to charitable works in her village. Enter the hero - the partner of her late husband in a spice-importing firm. The hero is an earl (of course!) who has turned to trade to revive the family fortunes. [One problem: Few peers directly engaged in trade; those who did so tended to be despised by other aristocrats. Investing in certain types of companies was permissible on the other hand, directly, or more likely, indirectly]. The hero's links to trade are actually less problematic compared to the story line. Although I can understand her fears, her dithering made the story somewhat hard to follow. An entertaining subplot involved the servants - the earl's man being determined to ensure that his master remains a bachelor (to the point of actively meddling in his betrothals), and one of Lady Harriet's maids being determined to nabble said valet. I did find the names of these maids somewhat distracting, and wondered where their names had come from. Having read a few more of Putnam's books, I have to say that this is probably her best work. She has now turned to writing historicals.
Rating: 
Summary: Ditziness, Dough and Dithering
Review: If you like a book where the heroine spends 98% of the book dithering, running away and being totally illogical this one is for you! It wasn't for me!
Rating:
Summary: Ditziness, Dough and Dithering
Review: If you like a book where the heroine spends 98% of the book dithering, running away and being totally illogical this one is for you! It wasn't for me!
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